Merchandising package



l/ ll f /ao al 3o "13C/Z912 W. O. MASHBURN. JR

MERCHANDISING PACKAGE Filed Mardh 14, 1933 Jan. 1, 1935.

Patented Jan. l, 193.5

UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

6 f Claims.

This invention relates to a ',merchandising package, objects of which are: kto render moreA convenient than heretofore the offering of bottled beverages for sale in a refrigerated or cooled condition, without necessitating the installation of an ice box or` the like; to provide means whereby cooled pbottled beverages may-,be shipped or delivered to a consumer, or toa Adealer whopossesses no means adequate to maintain the product in a refrigerated condition, to the end ythat the product may Without inconvenience be dispensed, in a cool and refreshing condition, in business oflices, homes, at card parties and the like, concessions in the lobbies of buildingsand in other places too small or crowded to include an icebox or refrigerating apparatus, on trains`and in aircraft, buses, and other conveyances whichheretofore could not carry such commodities dueto the impracticability o f providing for-refrigera- Other objects of the invention are, to'provide an unique arrangement of bottles in' a box having predetermined dimensions governedby the bottle sizes and shapes, whereby cracked ice dropped into the box may be caused'to.1eifective1y gravitate, through certain channels resulting from the peculiar mode of packing, in vorder'to quickly cool all the bottles either by actual contact' thereof with the ice or by convection of` cold from one bottle to another, the-bottlesbeing peculiarly arranged in contacting relationship; to jprovide means interiorly of the box for proper distribution of cold from a quantity of solidified carbon dioxide or other refrigerating substance; to provide means for precluding bottle breakage during 'ship-` ment, said means serving also asa meansfor spacing the bottles from the extreme cold of the refrigerating substance, and to vaccomplish `the foregoing objects with the use of but few, simple, and inexpensive constituent elements.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein anddisclosed in the accompanying drawing, lin which: K l

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the device of the invention. f

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the deviceshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device, with the lid thereof removed, showing the mannerof arranging bottles therein. K y

Fig. 4 is a fragmental cross sectional view taken on line 4 4 kof Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an elevational View of the lid interior, and taken on Fig.4.

line Of (Cl.v S23-91.5).

6 is a viewof one of the bottles shown in Fig. 3. Y f l Fig. 1 is a View of a diiferentyforrn of bottlev capable of use with the vdevice of the invention. f

`Heretofore, it was customary-to Vmerchandise 5 bottled goods such as beverages andthe like, by transporting them under ordinary temperature conditions, and delivering them to the consumer or the dealer, so that he was required to maintain a refrigerator or cooling box for cooling the prodl() uct before it could be oiferedfor sale or consumption. As a result of that practice, it was practically impossible to offer the goods forsale in a' cooled condition at many places where there existed a demand for the products. For example, l5 passengers of various types of vehicles, such as air craft, water' craft, and certain types of road vehicles, could not be supplied with the beverage in afcooled condition due to lack of facilities for maintaining the chilling means therefor;

In `accordance with present invention bottles; containing beverages may beV very compactly storedV and maintained in a cooled condition by thevuse of commonsolidied carbon dioxide' or other refrigerating substance, or by the appli- 251.

cation `of ordinary cracked ice. The device consists of a rectangular box 12 having side walls 13, end walls 14, and a bottom'wall 15, the ybox being preferably metal coveredso as to 'withstand; wear .andl rough usage. the-box is provided with-a metallic liner 16, which covers the inner side,endf, and the bottom walls thereof. As is' most clearly indicated in Fig. 4:the interior lining extends upwardly to apoint l'lwhich is approximately an inch below 351 the upper circumferential edge 18 of the box. The space between the inner and outer metallic Walls of the box is filled with a suitable insulating substance 19 such as cork or the like.

A set of four frame piecesA 20, preferably of 40 wood or ,other material which will hold screws or nails, provides a circumferential frame which is superposed upon the insulating substance'll)v and extended from a location slightly below the point 1'? to an upper rim in substantial contact with 45 the upper metallic ange 21 at the `top edges of the" box. Y The member 20 preferably is made in substantial triangular formation, so that an interior .tapered wall 22 may be provided for effecting a tight seal when the lid o-f the box is disposed in closed position.

"As indicated in Fig. 4, the top portion of each vertical wall is covered by means of 'a channel shaped metallic border piece 23, which includes the top flange 21 and the downwardly directed 55 The interior of 3,02

inclined wall 22. The member 22 abuts the tapered face 24 of member 20, and the lower edge 25 of said member stops short of the uppermost edge of the circumferential liner 16,` so ythat neither heat nor cold may be conducted between the members 22 and 16. In the space 26 between the circumferential edges 25 and 17, there is disposed a exible circumferential member 27 which extends inwardly of theI box to provide a sealing means between the yinterior wall' of the box and the walls of the lid. 'Ihe member 27 is a non-conductor of heat, and it includes an upwardly directed iiange portion 28 which prefer# ably is clamped between the members 20. and to be held in the proper position at a given elevation within the box.

By reason of the resiliency` of the insulating.l

material 19, the various wallsY of the inner lining' are permitted to flex and expand so that: aseries'fA that the bottoms 29 of superposed overlapping" bottles areA arranged' to contact the sides of the innerliner, thebottles being so. arranged that; the neck of one overlaps the neck of another for a distance approximating halfthe length of the bottles.. 'The necks lof the bottlesv are indicate-dV at 30'. By referring to Fig. 3, it willbe. observed that the length of the box is not equal tothe diameters of a row of adjacent contactingbottles, but rather to a length determined by the come. bined diametersof a row of bottlebodies towhichf isy added the combined diameters of th'e'capendsof opposed' bottles whichare disposed-'therebetween. The width of the box Tis determined'l by; the amount of overlap. between the necks, crop-f posed bottles whose bottomsl 294 are' disposed againstv the sidewalls of thel box.

In one embodiment ofthe invention eachbot tle comprises a bottom 2,9"an'd a'constrictedneck portion 30, intermediatev which parts: is an yexpanded'. or enlarged body portion 31, which :maybe: referredto asl anv enlarged` shoulder portion,

andi intermediate this shoulder portion andi the bottom'29, there isformedl the reduced body-perf tion= B2-The base is :larger than kthe reduced? bodyportion', and its diameter approximates .the diameter of the enlarged shoulder portionil .of the bottle. Thus itwill be apparent: that when' the bottles 'are placed horizontally Within. vthe box with their bottomsr abutting opposite side walls'of the box interiors, the necks of one group of bottles: will' bei received' between the necks of the oppositely disposed group, allin Vacofnmon. plane parallel to the box bottom. The necks of4 one group of"bott1es are suficiently advanced between the necks of .the othergroup, to provide the space between alternate bottles for reception of `a cooling. substance, such: as cracked ice. 'The'reduced portions 32'of the `various hori- Zonta'll'ayers of ,bottles serve to provide Zigeza'g passages from-the top layer to. thel bottom layer through. 'whiclfripass'ageslthe cracked ice may gravitate 'and' thereby reaclr;` all'. the'. bottlesk in thebox; All thebottles being. thereby disposed in vContacting. relationship, it .is'pl'ainlyv evident that: the coldV of the coolingA medium, and that. of any bottle "or group of bottles' will be'rconv'ey'ed throughoutthe entire content of the box. The

nexible inner'walls of the boxxprov'de for atight packing of the bottles. so that relative' movement thereof is practically eliminated', wherefore lthe merchandising package will withstand rough handling withoutbreakage of th'ef bottles 'contained therein.

It will be readily understood that bottles of the type indicated in Fig. 7, and the other bottles having a reduced neck portion, may advantageously be packed within a cooling device in the manner just described.

The lid for the box may be constructed by the use of a rectangular frame work of members 33 which provide an interior space for the reception of an insulating substance 34 such asrcork or the like. The: substance is confined: withirr the space f by.means` ofitheouter wall 35- and! anfinner wall 36. The sheet or wall 35 may be held in position v'against the frame members 33 by means of ani. gularlnemhers37 which may be screwed or otherwi'sesecured in place by means of fasteners 38. The-inwardly directed flanges 37 of the angular membersuextend for a distance exteriorly of the vface 40'of each frame member, to an inclined portion; 14,1;v thereof.

The circumferential ange 42 of the inner plate or wall 36 is adapted to hold in position-.az cushioning.' or sealing member 43, which encircles-the lidso asrto cooperate with the continu'ousL sealing. member 2.7l of thebox interior. The-.memberf43' is a heat noneconductor, Aand it willi beobserved thatno: part of therinner plate 36 contacts? the. metallic part ofthe outer memberss.39 and 35..'irrsuch av manner as: would permity convectionlofheat or cold. The members 33 are nonfcon'ductorsiiof heatzand cold". l I

One sidei'edge 440i the. lidi preferably has attached5 thereto by any. suitable means, such as screwsrior .theglike 45, a `piano hinge 46 that has oneiof. :it'sfllegs 47"screwed or: otherwise secured to.

the'bom interior; y y The; inn'erv;wall 3610i;- the lid is: adapted' to support a. substantially-rectangular container 38-,

preferably of metal? forthestorage of solidied carboni dioxid'e or .other vrefrigerati'ng substance.

The.;colrcainerl 481isof .a depth; so'y calculated' as toy dispose the bottom 49 thereof in spaced relation with theupper layer of. bottles when the lid is closed-upon the box. Thisconstruction is necessary tor'precl'udefreezing ofthe contents of the;

bottles.

Each of `tliethreesides 50, 5l and 52'of the container isrprovidedf with an. outwardly extending ilan'gef'whichzisadapted to enter suitable guide meansy for-holding the flanges inl contact with the metallicwall` 361` VThe'guide meansf may be constitutedzof'iaseries; of threey members 54 of substantiallyfsl -sirapetone I of the legsl 55* of which is fastened tofitlre platev 36 or 'to both the plate and the-frame-memberl 33', by any suitable means such asscrews:56.1 Those: guide members-54 which extennflongitudlrrallyi offthe lid are disposed insubstantial parallelism', so that the legs 57' thereof'Y may .providef-supports for the` opposite flanges 53 ofthe'contairrer. The end'gui'deV member 54 has 'inwardly idi'recte'd leg 58 spacedA sufciently from the memberf to' providea support for th endailange 53 ofrthecontainer..V

`In order that the-'bottles may not be displaced container `48so that the bottles may not rest upon the container even though the box be inverted. The purpose ofthisconstru'ction is to preclude freezing `of the* contents of the bottles, and accordingly; the members 60'are made Aof'non-con-r ducting material. Although thespacing members 60 are shown herein as being attached to the guidel The members 54 by means of screws 61, it is to be understood that these spaced members may be mounted4 upon other parts of the lid interior so long as they will perform their intended function.

Any suitable means may be provided for latching the lid in its closed position, there being shown one form of such means. The means disclosed comprise a disc 62 which is rotatably mounted exteriorly of the lid within a depression 63 thereof, the disc being provided with an operating handle 64 that may lie wholly within the depression. Pivotally mounted at diametrically opposite points 65 of the disc, are the latch members or bolts 67, each of which has an end 68 adapted to enter suitable openings 69 in the end walls 14 of the box. It is to be understood that the invention is notto be limited to the above type of latching means.

If desired, the end walls of the box may be provided with handle members 70. These handle members may or may not be located within depressions 71 provided in the end walls of the box.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in structural details of the device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination of a box and a series of individual contacting bottles, the bottles being placed horizontally within the box with their bottoms abutting opposite side Walls of the box, the necks of one group of bottles 'being received between the necks of the oppositely disposed group of bottles, all in a common plane parallel to the box bottom, with the necks of one group of bottles sufficiently advanced between the necks of the other group to provide a space between alternate bottles for reception of a cooling substance, a freezing means, and a fix-able member formed of material known to be a non-conductor of heat, arranged to contact the sides of certain ones of the bottles and to maintain them in the above stated relationship spaced from the freezing means.

2. The combination of a box and a series ofA individual contacting bottles, the bottles being placed horizontally within the box with their bottoms abutting opposite side walls of the box, the necks of one group of bottles being received between the necks of the oppositely disposed group of bottles, all in a common plane parallel to the box bottom, with the necks of one group of bottles sufciently advanced between the necks of the other group to provide a space between alternate bottles for reception of a cooling substance, a xable member formed of material known to be a non-conductor of heat arranged to contact the sides of certain ones of the bottles and to maintain them in the above stated relationship, a lid for the box, and a cooling substance supported by the lid to radiate its cold interiorly of the box, said cooling substance being spaced from the bottles by means of the iixable member to preclude solid freezing of the bottlecontents.

3. The combination of a substantially rectangular metal lined box and a series of individual contacting bottles each of which has a neck, an adjacent enlarged shoulder portion, a reduced body portion and a base larger than the reduced body portion, the bottles being placed within the box with their bases abutting opposite side walls of the box, the necks of one group of bottles being received between the necks of the oppositely disposed groups of bottles, all in a common plane parallel to the box bottom, the reduced body portions o-f alternately disposed bottles being in coincidence to provide a space for reception of ice particles, a similar layer of bottles arranged in the manner just stated, superposed upon the first layer but in staggered relationship, whereby to extend the passage space formed by the reduced body portions of the bottles, and a lid including a container for a cooling substance and means adapted to apply a force to the sides of the upper layer of bottles for precluding relative shift- `ing of the prearranged groups of bottles while at the same time maintaining the bottles at a nonfreezing distance from the cooling substance.

4. The combination of a substantially rectangular metal lined box and a series of individual contacting bottles each of which has a neck, an adjacent enlarged shoulder portion, a reduced body portion and a base larger than the reduced body portion, the bottles being placed within the box with their bases abutting opposite side walls of the box, the necks of one group of bottles being received between the necks of the oppositely disposed groups of bottles, all in a common plane parallel to the box bottom, the reduced body portions of alternately disposed bottles being in coincidence to provide a space for reception of a cooling substance, a similar layer of bottles arranged in the manner just stated, superposed upon the rst layer but in staggered relationship, whereby to extend the passage space formed by the reduced body portions of the bottles, a lid adapted to apply a force to the sides of the upper layer of bottles for precluding relative shifting of the prearranged groups of bottles, a cold conducting and distributing sheet disposed interiorly of the lid and insulated from the exterior of the lid, and a metallic carrier for a cooling substance secured to said conducting and distributing sheet.

5. In combination, 'a box for holding bottles disposed in a horizontal contacting position, insulated walls and a lining for the box, a lid for the box and means associated with the lid for securing the lid in place upon the box, a container for a freezing compound normally fixed relative to thelid interior, guide means upon which the container may be slid to disassociate the container from the lid, and spacing means supported by the lid and depending therefrom to a position below the container for freezing compound, for contacting the sides of bottles packed within the box to preclude shifting of said bottles and to space the bottles `always from the freezing compound container.

6. In combination, a box for holding bottles disposed in a Ahorizontal contacting position, insulated Walls and a lining for the box, a lid for the box and means associated with the lid for securing thelid in place upon the box, a container for a freezing compound normally fixed relative to the lid interior, guide means upon which the container may be slid to disassociate the container from the lid, and spacing means supported by the lid and depending therefrom to a position below the container for freezing compound, for contacting the sides of bottles packed within the box to preclude shiftingof said bottles and to space the bottles always from the freezing compound container, said spacing means being a poor conductor of cold so as to preclude direct convection of cold to the bottles through said spacing means.

WILLIAM O. MASHBURN, JR. 

